By Jackie Hardy
NDG Contributing Writer
The four candidates running in the Irving Mayoral election are not short on opinions when it comes to dealing with the issues facing the City. Incumbent, Herbert Gears (2005–present); Joe Putnam, former Mayor of Irving (1999-2005), and former Place 1 and Place2 City Council members Tom Spink (2007-2010) and Beth Van Duyne (2004-2010) were given a chance to voice their opinions during a candidate forum hosted by the Irving League of Women Voters held on April 27 at Irving City Hall.
Supporters of each respective candidate came out to hear the opponents’ response to some of the important questions voters have been asking in this election. The pressing issue that continues to come up is the controversy over the Irving Entertainment Center. Mayor Gears, along with other City officials, have been faced with media and public scrutiny over the recent news report by WFAA (Channel 8) on Irving Entertainment Center developers receiving unallowable expenses in excess of $100,000 based on a recent audit performed by an outside CPA firm hired by the City of Irving.
“I agree we need this project. We have spent over $36 million and not turned over a single shovel of dirt and all we have to show for the money spent is some pretty drawings,” states Duyne.
On November 6, 2007 a special election was held for voters to approve imposing a tax on customers and guests of the Irving Convention Center and Entertainment Venue Project, and taxes on Irving hotel guests as a method to fund the development project. Voters approved the proposition to allow the City to impose a maximum tax of 10 percent on tickets; a parking tax of up to $3 per vehicle for events held at the Irving Convention Center and Entertainment Venue Project; and a 2 percent (maximum) hotel occupancy tax.
Mayor Gears has gone on defense over the claim that taxpayer dollars are being used to fund the Irving Entertainment Center. Gears opponents have accused him of not being honest about how the project will be funded. Spink, Van Duyne, and Putnam have expressed how the current financial structure of the Entertainment Center Project is set to fail and how it will be left up to the residents to pick up the pieces.
“It is a false statement to say that General Funds and taxpayer monies are paying for the facility. It is 100 percent paid for by the users in ticket, parking and hotel taxes; a tax implemented and supported by the hotels. We blew up our entertainment venue {speaking about the Cowboy Stadium}; there is no reason to come to Irving for your entertainment destination any longer and we are going to recreate that and help our hospitality industry,” Gears states when asked the question about his support of the Entertainment Center Project at the candidate forum.
Putnam is pursuing legal actions against the City of Irving over the Entertainment Center Project. He argues the deal is in violation of the Restaurant with Alcohol Beverages 60/40 Ordinance (R-AB 60/40) requiring food sales to account for at least 60 percent of sales and a maximum sale of 40 percent in alcoholic beverages. In October of 2009, the City Council approved an amendment to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages in ‘any city-owned facility whose construction or operation is funded in whole or in part by hotel occupancy tax revenue.’
“I think it is important that we protect the R-AB Ordinance in order to keep bars out of our neighborhoods. The risk of having the rest of the City wide-open to alcohol sales is an absolute certainty that we would lose our 60/40 protection and that is too big a price to pay.
The Entertainment Center project is so shaky financially. The City pledges they will sell construction bonds in order to fund the project which means they would have to take money from the Arts, Museum and Irving Convention and Visitor Bureau (ICVB) and that is too great a price to pay for one big bar. If they were to take away the bars and put the R-AB Ordinance back in place and take away the pledge for using the museum and arts money to build the facility than I would drop the lawsuit and as far as I am concern they could build what they want,” states Putnam
“If we continue spending and throwing away money the way this Mayor has been we are going to lose our AAA Bond rating; and more importantly lose the integrity and fiber of this community,” adds Spink in a phone interview.
According to a December 2010 Dallas Morning News report, a two percent hotel occupancy tax has been allocated for the Entertainment Center Project and the City wants to back the entertainment center debt with a 5-percent hotel occupancy tax that currently pays for the operations of the ICVB and City Arts programs, as well as utilizing a federal Build America Bonds subsidy which was set to expire this past December (visit www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/irving/headlines/20101216-texas-challenges-irving-finance-method-for-entertainment-center-complex.ece for the full story on the financing for the Entertainment Center).
Transparency in government continues to be the platform shared among Van Duyne, Putnam, and Spink. These three candidates have been critical with the current City Council over the lack of transparency with various City projects.
Van Duyne has shared her objection to cronyism, backdoor dealings, and the good old boy systems. She has pledged to welcome citizen involvement in Council proceedings and business because she feels citizens have the right to know how much of their tax dollars are being spent as well as understand the determining factors involved in making those final decisions.
Gears supporters feel it would be a step backwards if he is not re-elected. Voters who support Gears feel strongly about the accomplishments and the steps he has made in moving the City forward. A strong supporter and Civil Rights Activist, Anthony Bond believes Irving would regress under the leadership of the Mayoral candidates opposing Gears.
“We need a leader who will represent all the citizens of Irving and understands the needs in moving this diverse City forward instead of backwards and Herbert Gears is the best Mayor to accomplish this,” states Bond.
Gears is hopeful the accomplishments he has made over the past six years is what will be the deciding factors in re-electing him as Mayor on May 14. Gears campaigns on his accomplishments with the successful demolition of over 1,000 substandard apartment and hotel units; the implementation of Irving’s Criminal Alien Deportation Program in which Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been able to deport over 6,300 illegal immigrants from the City’s jail; and maintaining record low crime rates for five consecutive years (40 percent drop in violent crime, per a report by the Irving Police Chief in a January 12, 2011 City Council work session).
“We lead the Nation in one of the toughest issues which is Illegal Immigration; there have been more criminal alien illegal immigrants imported from our City jail than in other City jail in America and we were featured on the New York Times front page as having one of the most successful Immigration programs and this means a lot to the quality of life which seem to matter most to the citizens of Irving,” remarks Gears.
The Heritage Crossing Redevelopment Project is another major issue facing the City and an issue neither candidate is reluctant in sharing solutions on what needs to be done to move the project along. McDougal is the company the City hired to oversee the development of the Heritage District located in downtown Irving. There have been various citizen complaints over the stall in the development of this project and the developer’s lack of accountability in meeting project deadlines.
Van Duyne comments, “We need to get retail here because we need to be able to sell to somebody because no one is going to be willing to invest in our City if they do not have something to sell to and in order to have any sustainable development you have to be able to have people there. We need to be seriously looking at the McDougal development holding those developers feet to the fire in making sure we are on schedule.”
Putnam and Spink feel the problems with the Heritage Crossing project is directly related to the developer. They agree the City should terminate the contract with McDougal and hire a developer that is more familiar with the Irving market.
The controversy over the Capital Improvement Project Initiatives (i.e. Irving Entertainment Center and Heritage Crossing Redevelopment) seems to overshadow the ever-growing challenge the City faces due to a sluggish economy. The City of Irving is looking to face a $20 million budget shortfall, according to a recent report presented to the City Council by Bret Starr, Assistant Chief Financial Officer. Both current and incoming City officials will have to work to continue to maintain municipal services without sacrificing the safety and the quality of its citizens.
In the area of continued commitment to the City’s public safety and economic stability, Candidate Spink shared how the City Manager and Fire Chief made application to change the City’s current Public Protection Classification (PPC) status from a PPC 2 to PPC 1, per his recommendation. According to Spink, this change could help homeowners save $500 million in homeowner premiums and save $25 million to the 70 percent commercial base within the City; thus allowing Irving to offer prospective companies the lowest insurance rates and in return this could mean enticing more businesses to the City.
In 2011, the City Council approved to increase property taxes to address the budget constraints as a result of revenue reductions and in going forward the newly appointed Mayor will inevitable have to deal with the same challenge of how to balance the budget in a tough economy. It will be left up to the voters on May 14 to decide the best candidate who is worthy of their trust in stewarding the City’s budget, services, and current/future economic developments.
